China's cyber watchdog spells out development strategies for tech giants (updated)

Bhang

10/02/2022 08:35

(Adds detail)
    BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace watchdog said
a symposium it held with Chinese tech giants last month had
given the industry a "clearer understanding" and more confidence
in how to pursue development and opportunities as they adjust to
a new regulatory landscape.
    The Cyberspace Administration of China said its official
publication had carried out interviews with companies such as
Tencent Holdings  0700.HK  and Alibaba Group  9988.HK  and
TikTok owner ByteDance after the Jan. 28 meeting, which was held
with 27 firms to discuss "healthy and sustainable" development. 
    "Everyone agreed this symposium enabled internet firms to
have a clearer understanding of the development situation,
strengthen their confidence towards development and firmly grasp
development opportunities," the CAC said on its official WeChat
account. 
    The comments from the CAC come after what has been a
bruising year for the once-freewheeling tech giants, which have
been heavily targeted by regulators as part of a campaign to
exert more control over swathes of the economy after years of
runaway growth.
    Investors have been watching closely for clues on whether
the worst is over, given how the crackdown has roiled global
markets and technology stocks over the past year.   
    The CAC quoted Tencent founder and CEO Pony Ma as saying
that he had organised a "study of the symposium" for the social
media and gaming giant while Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd
chairman Zhou Hongyi said it had established "clear
coordinates". 
    Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang told the CAC it would improve its
strategy to better serve its platform users.
    ByteDance China chairman Zhang Lidong was quoted as saying
it would "proactively" adjust its business focus and goals to
continue efforts to develop technologies including virtual
reality, and actively crack global markets and compete with
mutinationals. 
    Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance declined to comment. Qihoo
360 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

 (Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Yingzhi Yang; Editing by
Brenda Goh and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
 ((Eduardo.MonteiroBaptista@thomsonreuters.com;))